Luca John Filiz

Driven by curiosity and a passion for change, Luca John Filiz is an innovative and eclectic performer, writer, and musician. Being first generation Turkish and Italian, Luca knew from the start he had a lot to say—he just wasn’t quite sure how. Luca’s curiosity grew while moving around a lot as a kid, from the jazz-filled streets of New Orleans to sledding down maple tree hills in Connecticut, eventually settling down in the suburbia of San Jose, California. There, he channeled his hyperactive energy into playing sports year round; through his later pursuits in soccer, he gained invaluable experience in leadership and perseverance, as well as developing the ability to work within a team. It wasn’t until the end of highschool that Luca found a home in the performing arts, taking his love for movies and music and channeling them into Theater. 

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During his time at UCLA, Luca has spent a lot of his time originating roles through original theater, such as Harvey Still in the department’s New Works Festival play, Still Harvey Still, as well as Alan Alderson in Act III Theater Ensemble’s The Transient Bliss of Death by Fallout. He also brought two new characters to life off campus at Pacific Residence Theater through Roger Benson in On Warner Street and Logan Cromwell in the original musical, Dreamverse. Recently Luca studied classical text abroad at LAMDA, where he played Duke Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as well as Sebastian in the jacobean play, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. His favorite roles include Roger Davis from Rent as well as Christopher Boone from Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Aside from theater, Luca has played with his band, Mellowood, in UCLA’s Spring Sing twice, playing his original music in front of thousands of people.

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Offstage, Luca has been continuing to pursue his passion for film and music by acting, writing, and scoring for film as well as playing and writing with bands around the greater LA area. With experience in boxing and combat for stage and film, Luca has also endeavored in stunt coordinating for film, most recently on a UCLA Thesis film, They Needed Soldiers. Ultimately, he is committed to creating plays, films, and songs that not only entertain but educate and inspire change, and make people feel seen for who they truly are and not who they feel like they have to be. Aside from creating, Luca can be found driving up the PCH with the windows down, competing for the UCLA D1 Roundnet team, or trying something new :)